At Least It Wasn't Dirty Dancing
by daftmunky
Summary: Post-Birds of Prey (2x17). This is therapy for the distinct lack of Felicity in the last few episodes. My Olicity ship is undergoing repairs at the minute so I decided to give some Felicity-Roy bonding a go. Changed the rating to T because of language in upcoming chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's**_** Note;** Hello all! After tonight's episode I think that there was just a perfect opportunity for some Felicity-Roy bonding tome at the end... And I just couldn't let it go. I'm going to publish this as complete for now, but I may have more to add. Let me know what you think :) As always, constructive criticism welcome! I can't improve if I don't know what I'm doing wrong :)

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Felicity watched, feeling her heart break just a little, as Diggle gave Oliver's young protégé a fatherly squeeze of his shoulder.

When Roy had retreated down to the lair just two hours previously she had known something was seriously wrong, not from the way his hands were trembling (a side effect of the Mirakuru she had noticed), but because of the dead expression on his face.

Whilst not being a temperate guy, Roy was anything but emotionless. It was something that they had in common. Felicity was well aware of the fact that the majority of the time she wore her heart on her sleeve - Digg's attitude around her in the time between when they had found out about Oliver and Sara and the Clock King had only confirmed that. Roy may not present his heart so vulnerably, but he was just about the most passionate person she knew. It had become apparent to her when she had been watching his and Oliver's interaction in the back alley of Verdant when Roy was acting as the Arrows informant in the Glades. Whenever he spoke about protecting the people in the Glades, especially the kids, he became so fierce, so thirsty for justice. The Mirakuru had just exacerbated that passion; but the anger that had always resided in him was heightened as well. And when he spoke of Thea, he still held the same intensity, but it was softer. It wasn't driven by anger. It was driven by love. Any idiot could tell the boy was head over heels for her. It had warmed Felicity's heart when she'd seen him give Thea a gorgeous bracelet in the bar upstairs the previous night.

So what had happened between then and now?

Digg was passing her now, a hand held out to guide her up the stairs but she couldn't force herself to leave the broken boy alone. She looked at the man who had become her brother and he seemed to realize what she was thinking. He gave her a look which clearly read that he didn't want to leave them alone, but she held her ground. Eventually he sighed and gave her another meaningful look - this one saying 'do not do anything stupid and if something does happen: get out' - to which she smiled gratefully and nodded. He rolled his eyes one last time before continuing up the stair to the club. When she heard the door shut upstairs she quietly, but with enough noise to let him know he wasn't alone so he wouldn't try to strangle her or something, approached. The bracelet on the table that Roy was currently glaring at as if he had developed laser vision (which she didn't actually know if he had after the Mirakuru - she would have to find that out, although she sincerely doubted it considering they hadn't seen any evidence earlier and there had been p-l-e-n-t-y of times when she was sure his laser vision would have pierced Oliver and that would have been the end of the Arrow, and wow she was off track) was the one that he had given Thea the night before and her heart dropped as she realized what must have happened.

"Roy?" She said quietly, pausing just out of arm's reach, "You wanna talk?"

"Do I look like I want to talk?" He growled, making Felicity swallow as a tingle of fear ran through her veins.

"No, you don't." She conceded, ignoring her every instinct telling her to get the hell away, and stepped up next to him to perch on the edge of the desk. He was still glaring intently at the bracelet and she saw his hand trembling as he moved to pick it up. Without thinking, she shot her hand out and put it over the bracelet, making him stop short of actually picking it up.

"Don't." She whispered, knowing full well that if he had picked it up he would have crumbled it into an unrecognizable hunk of metal.

"Why not?" He growled, looking up abruptly and looking her directly in the eyes. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw every emotion he had been hiding over the last two hours expressed in his eyes. "She's never going to take it back. She's never going to take me back."

"Oh, Roy," she sighed, his defeated tone melting away the last of her hesitance. This time when she moved closer she wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him to her. Surprisingly he didn't fight it, instead the tension drained from him as he slumped, pressing his face into her stomach. She brought her other hand up and gently ran it through his cropped hair, trying to soothe him somehow. His entire body was trembling now, but seeing as she couldn't feel any tears she knew it wasn't because he was crying. Despite that, she made quiet shushing noises. She'd never really done this before, comforting people. She'd been an only child, with no parental figure, an absentee mother, and no close friends growing up, she'd never had anyone to comfort. After a while he lifted his own arms and tucked them around her waist, pulling her closer. There was nothing romantic or sexual about it. She felt surprisingly maternal - again, something that had never happened to her before. He tightened his arms a little when he gave a particularly violent shudder and she winced slightly. She knew he meant no harm, but he obviously wasn't in control still.

"Roy? Roy, I love the cuddle, but you're hugging like a python," she said, deliberately keeping her tone light and petting his head to let him know that she was okay. He dropped his arms but didn't move away from her. She settled back against the desk again, making him lean forward in his chair a little. Leaving one hand wrapped around his shoulders and rubbing his (very solid) bicep gently she picked up the bracelet.

"I hate him." The venom in Roy's voice made Felicity tense and she stopped rubbing his shoulder, nudging him back so she could look at him.

"Hate who, Roy? Oliver?" She asked, confused.

"He made me," he muttered, staring at the bracelet she was toying with. "He used her against me over and over."

"Roy, he was doing that to try to help you," she tried to rationalise with him, once more concerned at the Mirakuru heightened emotions he was displaying.

"He told me I was too dangerous."

"You are dangerous, Roy," she whispered, touching his cheek and making him look up at her, "You're dangerous, but you're learning."

"He doesn't think so." He said, once more injecting as much venom as he could into the sentence.

"Roy, I don't understand," she said, imploring him to explain, "I've obviously missed something."

He shook his head and reached out, taking the bracelet from her and toying with it. She noticed absently that it seemed to both calm him and make the tension in his shoulders more pronounced.

"Wait, does this have anything to do with your little guy talk earlier?" She asked, suddenly remembering earlier before she got the news bulletin about Laurel getting the Bertinelli case when Oliver and Roy had been speaking quietly at the other side of her workspace. Roy nodded miserably, opening and closing the bracelet mindlessly.

"He told me to stay away from Thea," he said eventually, tossing the cuff onto the bench and glaring at it again, "He told me that she wasn't safe with me, that I was too dangerous."

"That's bullshit!" She cried, before she'd had a chance to think it through. Rationally she knew that Oliver was right, but at the same time, with Slade Wilson out there threatening Oliver's family, Roy was probably Thea's best bet at staying safe. Wilson knew Roy was dosed with Mirakuru, making him slightly harder to deal to that Digg or Oliver. At least if Roy was around Thea would have a chance of escape. She made a point of telling Roy this, as she began pacing angrily, ripping the hair tie keeping her hair in its ponytail and agitatedly running her hands through it.

"I thought so too," Roy growled and Felicity jumped as he smashed his fist down onto the metal bench, putting a fairly significant dent in it.

"First thing tomorrow, I swear, I am going to rip him a new one." It was Felicity's turn to growl. She couldn't believe Oliver's audacity. She couldn't believe that he would be so eager to sacrifice his sisters and Roy's happiness, to throw away the little trust that had built between protégé and mentor, and the only thing that seemed to ground Roy when he lost control. Roy snorted despondently.

"Can I be there?"

"No," she smirked, tugging his hair teasingly, "Because you are going to be with Thea, telling her you're an idiot and winning her back with that strange charm you have that gives you such power over that girl. Honestly, she loves you so much-" She stopped when she realised Roy had dropped his head to his hands and was trembling again. "Roy?"

"She won't take me back. Not this time," he said, his voice muffled from the way his head was buried in his arms.

"Of course she'll take you back-"

"No! She won't!" He roared, standing so abruptly his chair went skidding off behind him and she jumped backwards.

"Why not?" She pressed. (She knew she shouldn't with him being so unstable, but honestly, she stood up to Oliver. Roy wasn't all that different as long as she stayed out of arm's reach.)

"I broke her," he whispered, "I broke her trust."

"Roy, you stole the girls purse!" Felicity cried, not understanding what he would have done that would have been worse than that.

"I made sure she'd catch me cheating," he said, his voice suddenly becoming emotionless once more.

"You what?" Felicity couldn't believe her ears.

"I'd tried just breaking up with her but she- she wasn't having it. She kept telling me she wouldn't let me push her away. I couldn't think of anything else to do. I made sure she would walk in on me hooking up with Lisa-"

"Blonde Lisa? As in Hostess Lisa?" Felicity interrupted.

"Yes. Lisa." Roy sighed, sinking back into his chair. "I knew that she would cause the most pain. I hurt her, Felicity. I made sure she would never take me back."

"I'm going to kill him," Felicity growled again. That would explain why Thea had looked heart broken when she'd seen her on the club footage earlier. One glance at Roy slumped in the chair playing with the bracelet made her mind up. "Okay, you're coming home with me tonight." She said, making sure her tone was no nonsense.

"No, Felicity I just want to go home and sleep," he sighed, moving to stand up. She blocked his path, her hands on her hips and gave him her best death glare.

"No, you're coming to mine. No arguments. We're going to eat ice cream and watch The Breakfast Club and you're going to talk, or not talk, which is fine. You don't have to talk. But the last thing you need is to be alone right now. I have a spare room. Thea's practically been living at yours and I don't think you want to be going home to that reminder so you're coming back to mine and getting a decent nights sleep. Okay?" She finished, taking in a great huff of air. Roy looked at her like she had grown an extra head before finally shrugging.

"At least it wasn't Dirty Dancing."

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_**A/N**_** 2;** So again, let me know what you think :) Review button is just below! Cheers x


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's**_** Note;** Hello! Wow! The response to this has been fantastic! Thank you so much! Keep the feedback coming in! It's really inspiring and encourages me to write!

This chapter is shorter than the last, but it just kind of finished itself really well and allows me to have a clear head space to move forward with the story.

Once more, let me know what you think and whether you want more?

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The car ride had been quiet. Felicity was glad that Digg's car was not out the front of her bungalow. She had half expected to see him after their almost telepathic conversation in the Foundry. But she was glad that he obviously seemed to trust her judgement.

"This is not what I expected," Roy said, getting out of her Mini. (Now that had been an interesting game of Tetris - fit the six foot wall of muscle into a Mini.)

"What did you expect?" She asked, leading him up the short walk and unlocking the door, turning the (excessive) security system off before stepping aside and letting him inside.

"I dunno. I kind of expected you to live in an apartment, not a bungalow at the fringe of the Glades."

"Huh," she shrugged, kicking off her heels and shrugging out of her coat. Roy looked awkward and uncomfortable standing in her entryway. Taking pity on the young man she indicated with her head to the kitchen. "If you want to head to the kitchen? I could do with a cup of coffee if you want to put the machine on. There's beer in the fridge. And wine. But to be honest I don't recommend you drinking, I don't know what kind of effect alcohol has combined with Mirakuru. Oh, and kick your shoes off, I cleaned the carpets over the weekend."

Roy snorted but did as he was told.

"I'm going to run and get changed," she said, "Just make yourself comfortable and er, try not to knock the place down?" She added with a wink. Roy glared but she ignored him, skipping down the corridor to her room.

When she was inside she took a moment to think. Being alone with an extremely unstable Roy was not one of her smartest plans, like, going-after-the-Clock-King-alone-stupid, but he couldn't be left alone right now. And all at once her anger towards Oliver multiplied. He was so blind to everyone around him. And since being with Sara that had just grown ten-fold. He had been getting better, after they had retrieved him from the island and she blew up at him for his obliviousness in regards to Digg's failed relationship with Carley, he had taken a special interest in making sure their personal lives weren't suffering. Obviously he failed, but it was the thought that counts. But this? This was on a whole new level. She hadn't been kidding about ripping Oliver a new one the next day.

She gave a huff but pushed off of the door and changed quickly into a comfortable pair of leggings and an old overside MIT jumper.

Re-entering the kitchen she saw Roy pouring the coffee into two mugs and munching on some of the brownies she had made the previous evening.

"You know I can actually cook some dinner, if you're hungry?" She said, quirking an eyebrow at him, but taking the cup of coffee with a smile of thanks.

"Not hungry. They just smelled good," Roy said through a mouthful of brownie. She rolled her eyes but snagged one out the box as well.

"Fair 'nugh."

"So. Dirty Dancing?" Roy said, after they'd stood drinking their coffee and eating their treats in silence for a while.

"It was The Breakfast Club," she said pointedly and moved to her lounge, knowing he'd follow, "But we can watch Dirty if you're really that keen?"

"One bad 80s flick is enough. Thanks." He said dryly, collapsing down onto her couch and propping his feet up on her coffee table. She raised her eyebrow again, but carried on putting the DVD into the player before collapsing next to him.

"You're really taking this 'make yourself at home thing' to heart, aren't ya?" She joked, knocking his foot with her own and messing with the remote to start the film.

"Well, seeing as I can't go to my home, may as well make the one you're in work," he sighed. She took pity on him and put her head on his shoulder.

"Well let the 80s wow you."

As the final credits began to roll Felicity sat up from where she had sagged against Roy and stretched, reaching for the remote to turn the entertainment system off. Turning back to the young man she smiled sleepily as she saw he had fallen asleep. The way he was slumped would undoubtedly cause him a great deal of pain the next morning, but Felicity knew she wouldn't be able to shift the mass of muscle alone. She stroked her hand over his forehead and squeezed his shoulder gently.

"Roy? Roy, lay down," she whispered, shaking him a little as he stirred.

"Nnnngh," he grunted, but he shifted around to stretch out over the couch. She smiled at his antics, and stroked her hand over his head and scratched gently at his scalp.

"Nunyt," she whispered, bending to press a kiss to his temple. She tugged the throw that was tossed over the back of her couch, and tucked him in. As she went to pull her hand back, one of his shot out and caught her wrist, his hold surprisingly gentle.

"_Thea_."

Her heart broke again at his sigh and she couldn't stop herself from gently kissing his forehead again. She hoped he would sleep well tonight before being faced with the horrible reality of his actions in the harsh light of day.

She collected up their dirty ice cream bowls, and carried them back to the kitchen where he put them in the sink, running hot water over them as she gathered up all the other dishes from around her kitchen. She quietly washed and dried them, before leaving them on the bench, not wanting to make too much noise opening and closing cupboards and draws. She flicked the lights off and exited to the hallway, where she left the dim lamp on by the door to the lounge so Roy wouldn't be in complete darkness when he woke. As she moved to her door to rearm the security system Diggle had installed for her a faint knocking startled her. She flicked on the light over the porch and peeked out the spy hole.

Shit, she thought. Oliver was standing on her porch, his head hung low. Now that she'd turned the light on she knew that he knew that she was home, so she couldn't conceivably ignore him. With a glance back to the lounge to make sure Roy hadn't woken she took a deep breathe before quickly opening her door and stepping out onto the porch and closing it behind her. Oliver looked up, startled, as she stepped into his personal space.

"You can't be here," she hissed, poking him in the chest and forcing him to take a step back and down to the top step.

"Felicity, what-"

"You need to leave," she growled, ignoring the way he had said her name.

"I don't-"

"No, Oliver. Leave. Unless its an emergency and you need me to come back to the Foundry, which I doubt seeing as you would have just called me, so its not urgent, so you need to leave." She said firmly, using the same tone she had used earlier when she had been telling Roy that he was coming back to hers.

"Felicity, I need-"

"No!" She yelled, before remembering that Roy was asleep inside and probably had heightened hearing. She forced her volume to lower as she stepped forward, making him back down again. "No, Oliver. For once, its not going to be about what you need. I have Roy inside-"

"What? He's dangerous, Felicity!"

"-And the last thing _either_ of you need is a confrontation right now. And my house doesn't need that either. So you're going to turn around, get back on your bike, and go back to the Foundry, where you have Sara waiting for you. Whatever you 'need' to talk to me about, or whatever, you need to do that with her, your _girlfriend_." She watched, her chest heaving as she tried to stop more angry words spewing forth, as he hung his head. God, he was dense!

"Felicity, I'm not comfortable leaving you alone with him," he said softly, looking up and meeting her eyes. She saw the concern swimming in the usually steel grey irises, but even that did nothing to persuade her otherwise.

"Newsflash, Oliver: you have no say in what I do or who I hang out with. You never have, and you never will."

"That's not fair," he growled, stepping up a step so that they were now eye level.

"Life's not fair," she bit back, turning to re-enter the house. "Oh, and by the way, Oliver?" She said,glancing over her shoulder to see him looking angrily after her.

_"We're not done here."_

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_**A/N 2;**_ Sooo? Whatdya think? Don't worry, that's not Felicity ripping our dear dense Oliver a new one... There is more to come! Next chapter probably won't be up as soon as this. I want to make the blow up believable, so I'm going to take my time with it.

Review buttons just below, be a friend and give it a push :P Cheers x


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note;**_ Okay, okay, I know what I said about not uploading... But this really got away from me and the next thing I know the chapter that was just suppose to be a filler is north of 6000 words...

So here you go... An _extra long_ filler chapter!

Also, I couldn't help the little additions of Oliver's POV. They're nothing major, but they kept floating round in my head and slipping in, so I gave in and just added them.

And can I just say, the response I've got from this fic has been phenomenal! You guys are the best people in the world! Keep the reviews coming in, I wasn't joking when I said that they inspire me to keep it up.

Enjoy!

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_Previously in At Least It Wasn't Dirty Dancing:_

_"Felicity, I'm not comfortable leaving you alone with him," he said softly, looking up and meeting her eyes. She saw the concern swimming in the usually steel grey irises, but even that did nothing to persuade her otherwise._

_"Newsflash, Oliver: you have no say in what I do or who I hang out with. You never have, and you never will."_

_"That's not fair," he growled, stepping up a step so that they were now eye level._

_"Life's not fair," she bit back, turning to re-enter the house. "Oh, and by the way, Oliver?" She said, glancing over her shoulder to see him looking angrily after her._

_"We're not done here."_

**Oliver's POV**

What had just happened? It wasn't like Felicity had never snapped at him before. She had. Frequently. Especially when he was being an ass. But there was something very different about it this time. This wasn't just her telling him he was wrong. This was her genuinely furious. And furious Felicity was scary.

As he made his way back down the short walkway to the road where his bike was parked he kept seeing her angry face flashing before his eyes. When he reached his bike he swung a leg over, but pulled out his phone, hitting 2 and switching to Bluetooth so he could speak with his helmet on.

"Need me back at the Foundry?"

"Why does everyone always assume that I want them at the Foundry whenever I show up or call?" He

growled without thinking.

"Because whenever you call or show up you do want us at the Foundry." Digg said, and Oliver could hear the smirk in his friends voice.

"I- Never mind," Oliver huffed, revving the engine and pulling away from the curb, "I know that Felicity told you not to watch her house, but I need you there tonight. Roy's there and-"

"No."

"No"

"That's right. No."

"Digg. I'm serious. I don't trust-"

"Who? You don't trust who, Oliver? You obviously don't trust Roy considering how heart broken that kid was this evening, which, coincidentally, is the reason he's at Felicity's in the first place. Or you don't trust Felicity?"

"Of course I trust Felicity," Oliver snarled, swerving around a car that unexpectedly pulled out. "And what do you mean by 'that's why Roys at Felicity's in the first place'?"

"Oliver. You can't think that Felicity would just leave the kid alone."

"I didn't think-"

"Exactly. You didn't think. Now I'm going to hang up and go back to bed. Night Oliver."

"Digg!" He snapped, but the quiet beeping let him know that his friend had hung up on him. He gave another snarl of frustration and kicked his bike up a gear, racing back to the Foundry.

**Felicity's POV**

As she closed the door quietly behind her and rearmed the security system she couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. She wasn't gonna lie. Putting Oliver in his place felt good. It always had. But this was different. Protecting someone against the hurt that he had caused, especially when she'd done such a crap job of protecting herself from him, had felt good. She'd had more of a purpose this time than any before.

She poked her head round the door jam to check on Roy once more. Her shout hadn't seemed to wake him, but he now had an arm flung over his head, dangling off the arm of the couch. She smiled, and retreated back down to her room.

She was exhausted. Helena coming back had brought up uncomfortable memories and feelings and added to her already uncomfortably high level of paranoia. Honestly, being paranoid takes a lot out of someone! But back to Helena. Whilst she'd put on a brave face and bravado in front of the others, she had internally been panicking for the last two days. Being tied up in her own office, with her own scarf, may have left some residual anxiety.

Shaking herself out of that downward spiral, she changed quickly into a pair of her comfy flannel pyjama bottoms and pulled on a faded and worn t-shirt. Her hair was dealt with quickly, seeing as she'd yanked it out of her ponytail earlier and scrubbed her hands through it in frustration. Tossing her glasses down onto the bedside table she made quick work of brushing her teeth and clearing her face of makeup. Satisfied with her nightly routine, she collapsed onto her spacious double bed, snuggled beneath the covers and closed her eyes.

For once, Oliver didn't come into her thoughts as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The alarm blaring woke her at 7, as usual.

What wasn't usual was the smell of fresh coffee and the music coming from her kitchen.

She snagged her glasses off her bedside table she tip toed out her door, sneaking down the corridor, hugging the wall as she went. She quietly picked up her old field hockey stick she kept hidden in her linen cupboard before taking a deep breath and jumping round the door into her kitchen. She swung the stick and hit the very large human form that was bent with its head in her fridge.

"What the HELL!" Roy roared as he tried to stand up, smacking his head on the inside edge of the fridge. As she stood holding the hockey stick poised over her shoulder for another hit it felt a bit like déjà vu.

"Roy! Oh my God!" She cried, dropping the stick and stumbling back when she saw the distinct trembling of his hands. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry!"

"Flick, it's okay!" He hissed, closing his eyes as he fought to get the trembling under control.

"No its not! Did I hurt you?"

"I'm hopped up on Mirakuru. I don't think your field hockey stick is going to make a dent."

"Its- I'm still- Wait, Flick?" She said, replaying what Roy had just said in her head.

"Er, yeah. Sorry, its just a natural shortening isn't it?" He asked, ducking his head in apparent embarrassment. At least he's got the Mirakuru under control, she thought idly. That was a good sign. She hadn't had to intervene for him to calm down. Maybe there was hope for him after all.

"No, its fine!" She reassured him, feeling safe enough to approach, "I just haven't heard it in a long time." She gently moved him to sit at her table before going back and fixing all the food in her fridge which had been knocked over when Roy hit his head.

"What's a long time?" Roy asked, rubbing the back of his head. She froze momentarily before answering.

"Since I was 4. My dad used to call me that."

"Why'd he stop?"

"Well, its difficult to call your child anything when you abandoned them."

She hadn't meant to sound so bitter, but she supposed it was only natural when you've been left with some serious Daddy and abandonment issues.

"Shit, I'm sorry," Roy mumbled, scuffing the floor with his barefoot awkwardly.

"Its alright," she reassured him, throwing a smile over her shoulder to let him know she wasn't angry, "Its not exactly something I advertise. Now. What were you digging around in my fridge for? And can you pour me a coffee while I do breakfast?"

"Oh," Roy said, standing and retrieving two mugs from the cupboard, "I was looking for some bacon. Bacon makes everything better."

"Roy, another fact that isn't immediately obvious when it comes to me, I'm Jewish."

"Jewish? So no bacon?" Roy asked, and Felicity couldn't help laughing at the stricken look on the young man's face.

"Yes, Roy. No bacon. I can, however, make you my breakup specialty."

"And what's that? More 80s movies?" He quipped, putting her coffee on the bench before resuming his position at the table.

"No," she said, poking her tongue out at him childishly, "Chocolate chip pancakes."

"Felicity. I'm not 8 years old."

"Maybe not, but chocolate chip pancakes will never fail to make you smile."

Roy snorted, but she ignored him and carried on making them breakfast in silence. When she was done and putting the food on the table she took note of the fact that a smile did make its way onto Roy's face. She refilled her coffee before sitting down and digging in.

"So, what are you going to do today?" She asked, taking her plate over to the sink.

"I don't know," he mumbled, getting up and copying her actions, "Go home, I guess. Hope Thea's already collected her stuff. I assume that I'm fired, so tonight I'll use Oliver's secret entrance and do some training down in the basement."

"I'm sorry, Roy," she said, squeezing his arm sympathetically, "You know, you're welcome to stay here as long as you want, okay? I have a spare room, so you don't need to sleep on the couch."

"The couch is better than some places I've slept." He confessed, but he smiled at her gratefully all the same. Looking at the iPod dock on the counter Felicity cursed as she realized she was running late.

"Shit! I need to get ready, I'm supposed to be at the office in 20 minutes!"

"I'll do the dishes," Roy said, nudging her gently towards the door (once more impressing her with his control).

"Thank you!" She called, already disappearing down the corridor.

She flung herself in the shower, and made quick work of her usual morning routines. Grabbing the first dress she saw in her wardrobe, she found appropriate undergarments and made even quicker work of getting dressed. Deciding that her shoes from the previous day would work fine she cantered back down the hall, collecting her tablet and phone up from the lounge and putting them in her bag before charging into the kitchen to grab her customary coffee-to-go. The sight that met her melted her heart. Roy was at her sink, a tea towel flung over his shoulder, finishing with the last off their breakfast dishes, and a thermal mug sat on the end of the bench closest to the door.

"You're a God send, Mr Harper," she grinned, making a show of reaching up and placing a smacking kiss on his cheek, making sure to leave the bright pink print of her lipstick. Roy shrunk away, pulling a face and complaining. "There's a spare key in the bottom of the umbrella stand by the door, just use that if you leave. Oh, and the security code is 9-1-7-2-3-8."

"See ya later, Flick." Roy said, smiling at her again.

"See ya later, Harper," she smiled back, collecting her coffee and handbag on the way out the door.

* * *

When she arrived at work the first thing she saw was Oliver pacing like a caged animal in his glass prison (his words, not hers). Usually when she was greeted by that sight she would put away her things and go in, talk him through his schedule with her usual amounts of babble thrown into the mix until he had calmed down enough to sit in his chair and resume going through paper work. This morning, however, she got her things squared away and made a show of sitting at her desk. Instead of going and talking him through his schedule, she e-mailed it to him, making sure it was all straight to the point. When she glanced up Digg caught her eye from his usual post in Oliver's doorway so he was between their two desks. He raised his eyebrow at her and she smiled to let him know that there wasn't anything wrong (other than what he already knew).

"Felicity!" Oliver barked and Felicity had to grind her teeth before standing and entering his office.

"Yes, Mr Queen," she said, deliberately keeping her voice cordial with a touch of frost.

"Close the door, please."

She did as instructed, smiling and rolling her eyes at Digg.

"Was there something you needed, Mr Queen."

"Don't call me that." He growled, standing from behind his desk and stalking towards her. "What the hell is going on with you?"

"Sorry, Mr Queen. If there's anything _work_ related," she emphasised, glaring at him pointedly when he growled, "I shall be at my desk."

With that she turned on her heel and started to retreat back to her desk when his hand clamped down on her elbow.

"Let go of me." She said, her voice dangerously low. As if she had burned him, he released her. When she saw his face in the reflection of the glass she could feel the guilt bubbling in her stomach. He looked as if she had physically struck him, and if she wasn't mistaken, he actually stumbled as he retreated. Flinging the door open, Digg looked at her once more concerned. In the last few weeks that seemed to have become his permanent setting around her. This time she couldn't bring herself to smile at him. Oliver had never grabbed at her like that before. He had been increasingly tactile with her since his return from the island for the second time, but there had been something dangerous about it this time, like he wasn't in control. _Which is ironic, considering he was the one who told Roy that he wasn't in control…_

She made sure to close the door behind her, but rather than taking her seat, she collected up her tablet and headed towards the elevator.

"Digg, if he needs me for anything that is legitimate work, tell him I'm downstairs in the IT department. They had a problem fixing something in the firewall the accountancy department use. Seeing as I helped create it, I'm going to help fix it." She explained calmly. She didn't hear his reply as she stepped into the elevator.

* * *

Felicity managed to avoid Oliver for the rest of the day. She returned upstairs when she knew he would be going into back to back meetings, and left again promptly when their lunch hour began, going to a coffee shop in the opposite direction to where they usually went.

Before she knew it, it was 6 and Digg was telling her he and Oliver were heading straight over to the Foundry.

"I'm going to head home first," she told him, gathering up all her things, "Roy text me just before and said he's still there, so I'll collect him and be over in about an hour."

"You sure he should be coming in tonight?" Digg asked, obviously unsure about how the team was going to function tonight.

"He said earlier that he wants to come. He could have changed his mind, which, you know, I don't blame him if he does. In fact, you might be right. I'll ask him if he wants to stay home. Either way, I'll see you at about 7:30. Do you want me to pick up anything for dinner?"

"Na, we're going to swing by Big Belly on the way. Let me know if Roy does want to come in tonight. I'll get Sara and Oliver out on patrol before you get there so we minimise their contact."

"Thanks Digg," she said, giving his arm a squeeze as she moved past him and left the office.

**Oliver's POV**

He watched as Felicity stopped to talk to Diggle on her way out. He hadn't been able to concentrate on anything today since she'd left his office. He couldn't believe he had grabbed her like that. He had always sworn that Felicity would be the one person that he would never harm. He knew he had failed in not harming her emotionally, but he had never even considered that it was in his capability to hurt her physically. When he'd heard her breath catch before she whispered for him to let go he could swear his heart had stopped.

He didn't know what was going on with them lately. Ever since the Clock King fiasco he had been trying to make sure Felicity didn't feel isolated or left out. And yet, here they were. It was almost like the few hours that she'd ignored him when they got back from Russia. But at least he'd known what he'd done then!

Diggle appearing before him snapped Oliver out of his musings. He didn't miss the grin on Digg's face, but he couldn't grudge him that. After all, it was incredibly difficult to catch Oliver off guard.

"You ready to go, boss?"

"Fine," Oliver huffed, switching off the desktop screen (Felicity had consistently told him off for leaving the monitor running all night when they first took their secret identities on) and gathering all the papers that had been scattering his desk up and throwing them into the briefcase that Thea had gotten him as a 'congratulations on finally growing up and having an adult job' present (to use her words).

"I thought we'd stop by and get some Big Belly on the way?" Digg said as they got in the elevator.

"Yeah, sounds good. Look, Diggle. Do you know what's going on with Felicity?" He couldn't help asking. Everything between them had seemed fine. She'd been talking to him at least.

"Oliver, I'm not getting in the middle of that. You need to talk to her, not anyone else."

"Digg. Have you ever considered going into politics?" Oliver huffed, sick of his friends enigmatic answers.

Wisely, Diggle didn't reply.

* * *

**Felicity's POV**

"Honey, I'm home!" Felicity sung out jokingly. A heavy sigh (that Felicity could hear from her position in the entryway) came from the kitchen. Entering the room Felicity saw that Roy had taken advantage of her offer to stay, and had actually made dinner.

"A girl could get used to you spoiling her, Harper. Coffee this morning, dinner tonight…" She joked.

"I needed something to do," he sighed, taking a moment away from stirring the pasta to turn to her and give her his full attention, "And to say thank you. I know I said I'd go home today but…." He trailed off.

"But you didn't want to face reality." She finished for him sympathetically. His hunched shoulders and the way he turned away from her told her that he was embarrassed. "Roy. I meant what I said this morning. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like. You're an excellent house guest, and it's kind of nice to have someone to hang out with."

"Felicity, you see me almost every night anyway." He pointed out, dishing up two plates of pasta while she poured herself a glass of wine and got him a glass of water.

"Let's be honest, I don't know you or see you nearly as well as I see the others. And you're a great guy, Roy. And an amazing cook!" She added, inhaling the aroma coming off her plate. His ears were tinged a red that nearly matched his ever present hoodie. They ate in silence, and when Roy made to get up to do the dishes, Felicity pushed him gently back into his seat.

"No, you cooked, I'll do the dishes." She filled the sink and finished the last mouthful of wine before speaking again. "So, what did you get up to today then?"

"Not much. Watched a bit of TV. Went down to the shelter in the Glades to do my community service." He stopped at the disapproving look she threw him and explained, "Its left over from before- before Thea made me straighten up." He swallowed audibly and clenched his fist on the table. Felicity took that as her cue to move on.

"Do you want to come to the Foundry tonight? I know things aren't exactly going to be comfortable anytime soon, but you are still part of this team, okay?"

"Thanks, Flick," he grinned gratefully, "But I might just turn in early tonight."

"Do you want me to swing by yours on my way home? Pick up some stuff for you?"

"Thanks, but no thanks. I went by earlier. But, if- if Thea's there tonight, can you- can you just make sure she's okay?"

"Of course I will, Roy. And if she's not, I'll get her extremely drunk and watch Dirty Dancing with her." She joked, finishing putting the dishes away.

"I'm gonna watch the game then go to bed." He said, officially closing the subject by standing and leaving the room.

Felicity took advantage of the fact that she'd come home before heading to her second job for once by heading down to her room and getting changed out of her office attire and into something more comfortable. And warmer. The Foundry wasn't exactly the best location for retaining heat. She pulled on a pair of jeans, tank top and a comfortable sweatshirt. Returning to the hall where she had left her bag she slid her feet into her panda ballet flats that had been seriously neglected since she'd taken on the identity as Oliver's EA.

"Roy, I'm heading out. Let me know if you want me to grab anything before I come home." She called, already opening the door.

"Text me when you're coming home." He called from where he was stationed in front of her TV in the lounge.

She arrived at Verdant, and pulled her car in around back. As it was midweek it was quiet at the club, something which she was thankful for because it meant that Oliver and Sara would both be out patrolling.

Sure enough, when she'd made her way downstairs, Diggle was the only one there to greet her. He touched the comms unit in his ear before speaking.

"How's the kid doing?"

"'The kid' has a name," she said, looking at him disapprovingly, "But he's okay. He's actually handling it a lot better than I was expecting. Which isn't necessarily a good thing because he could just be repressing everything, which means that he's going to just explode at some point. And Roy hopped up on Mirakuru exploding is bad. Very bad. Catastrophic, actually."

Digg held up a hand to stop her before touching the earpiece again to unmute the comms and began throwing directions to Digg and Sara out in the field. Felicity moved to her usual station and went about checking up on the searches she'd left running the previous night before switching over to look through the footage from the club, checking to see if Thea was there. She was, and she looked just as heartbroken as she had the night before. Setting up some new searches, she checked over her shoulder to see Digg still wrapped up in logistics so she decided to take advantage of the fact that she wasn't needed at the moment. She stood, and made her way up to the club.

As she'd expected, the club was fairly empty. Enough so that she stood out like a sore thumb in her jeans and sweatshirt. She skirted around the edge of the bar to get to the stairs, which she mounted quickly, and ducked into the office.

"What is it?" Thea's tired voice called from where her desk was hidden behind various shelves of booze.

"Thea? Its Felicity. I'm a fri- I'm Oliver's Executive Assistant," she corrected herself, rolling her eyes slightly at the job title.

"You're Oliver's friend. The one who came to the hospital to see Walter last year, right?" Thea said, apparently ignoring Felicity's correction, "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to see if- see if you're okay? Which is totally random, because you don't know me, and how on earth do I know that something's wrong, and more to the point that I know exactly what that something is. In hindsight I realise that this is probably really creepy. You know what, never mind." Felicity rambled, realising as she spoke that she actually shouldn't know that Thea and Roy split up and that she might have just made a huge mistake.

"No, its okay. I figure Ollie probably told you, right?" Thea asked, her head dropping to her hands.

"Um, not exactly?" Felicity said. Her struggle to want to tell the girl as much of the truth as she could, but not being able to betray the teams trust had her saying it like a question.

"Then how'd you know?" The younger woman asked curiously.

"Well, I kind of ran into Roy, last night when I was stopping for a drink before heading home, and he was really cut up about something so I started talking to him and he just said that he thought he made the biggest mistake of his life and, um, yeah.. We kind of got talking and then he was too drunk to go home alone and it probably wouldn't be the best place for him considering you've been practically living together so he actually stayed at mine…" She trailed off, realising she'd probably just revealed too much, but there was no going back on it now.

"How pathetic does it make me that I'm just really glad that he has someone looking out for him too?" Thea asked, and Felicity's heart clenched as she heard her breath hitch. She approached the younger woman and awkwardly wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"It doesn't make you pathetic, Thea. It makes you one of the best people I know." She said, glad that for once she got to be 100% honest, "I promise, I'm not condoning what he did. But he has no one, and he was really cut up about it. He really does regret it."

"You know the worst part?" Thea managed through her tears, "I know that he was only doing it to push me away. He did the one thing that he knew I wouldn't be able to bounce back from. I hate him for having that power over me. And I hate myself for letting him." She managed before a sob erupted and she was curling into Felicity like a young child. Felicity, much like she had with Roy the previous night, wrapped her arms around the girl and made soothing noises.

The pair stayed like that for a couple of minutes until Thea had calmed down. The younger girl pulled away and wiped at her face, cleaning away the tears and the smudged mascara.

"God, I'm so sorry. I barely know you and I just sobbed all over you like a total girl." Thea tried to laugh it off, but the slightly hysterical hiccup detracted from the overall effect.

"It's okay," Felicity reassured her with a bright smile, "You wouldn't believe the number of times I've had to clean up your brothers tears." She joked. It worked. This time when Thea laughed it was a lot more natural.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure it happens all the time with Ollie." She giggled.

"That's better," Felicity smiled, holding out the box of tissues that had been on the desk behind her, "I really did just want to come and check in with you. And- And I promised Roy I would make sure you were okay, too." She added the last part quietly. Thea stiffened, but a weak smile remained on her lips.

"Of course he would." She sighed heavily, shaking her head.

Felicity's phone ringing loudly in her pocket startled them from their female bonding moment. Checking the caller ID she saw that it was Digg.

"Sorry, I have to take this," she said, smiling apologetically, "What's up?" She said into the phone, turning away from Thea.

"_Felicity, I need you back downstairs. Sara and Oliver just got back. Their both hurt and something went down between them out there and their about to rip each other to pieces_." He said shortly, and from the tinny quality of his voice and the fact that she could hear various other noises from Oliver and Sara, she knew she was on speaker.

"Okay, okay. I'll be there in a minute." She said, hanging up abruptly. Turning back to Thea her chest clenched at the worry on the other girls face.

"Was that Roy? Is he okay?"

"No, no it wasn't," Felicity reassured her, shoving her phone back in her pocket, "It was my mum. I'm sorry, I have to go."

"No, it's okay. I understand. But- But thank you."

Felicity smiled again, and took a moment to scribble her number onto a piece of paper on the desk.

"This is my personal cell. If you want to talk, or even if you want a go between between you and Roy for whatever reason, just let me know." Felicity gave her one more smile before leaving the office.

The scene that greeted Felicity down in the Foundry was not pleasant. Sara was on the med table with two obvious wounds on her right thigh and her right arm cradled against her chest, and Oliver was limping heavily as he paced back and forth. Both were still in their costumes and they were snapping angrily at one another. Diggle seemed to be trying to both stitch Sara up (who kept pushing him away as he got between her and an increasingly angry Oliver) and force Oliver to sit down to stop him from injuring himself more. As the three's yelling reached a crescendo Felicity sucked in a great breathe.

"_Enough_!" She yelled, using her extremely loud voice. It worked though. Silence descended upon them as they all turned to look at her in surprise. Feeling slightly flustered, but taking advantage of their attention she made her way towards them. "Sara, sit still and let Digg stitch you up. Digg, don't be mean just because you're grumpy. And Oliver," she said, turning to face him for the first time since their miniature confrontation this morning, "Sit down or I'll get Digg to knock you out."

Surprisingly they all did as she said. Sure, Digg looked at her with mild amusement before turning to Sara. When he went to stick her with local anesthetic she rolled her eyes and made him put it back down. Oliver held out the longest, glaring at her with an impressive Arrow stare before limping over to her chair and sinking down.

"Thank you," she said, much quieter this time. She cautiously approached Oliver and crouched to assess the ankle he's been limping on for injury, "What happened?"

"Oh, you're talking to me now?" He snapped and she recoiled from the venom in his tone.

"I never stopped talking to you. Now get your head out of your ass or I'm going to get Sara over here when Digg's done with her and I think that you'll find she was ready to rip your head off." She said back with equal fervor. That seemed to shut Oliver up because he sat back and crossed his arms like a petulant child. "Now. What happened?"

"Bike accident. I sprained my ankle. Sara's got a few scrapes. The slices are from a knife fight."

"Sprained ankle. I can do that." Felicity said, not really listening to what Oliver had said past that. She wasn't concerned about Sara; Digg was seeing to her. As gently as she could, she started to unlace the leather boots. Oliver didn't make a sound, even though she could feel him tense underneath her fingers as she supported his calf with one hand while gently tugging the totally unlaced boot off. She stood and pulled his stool that he used when sharpening his arrows over and folded a towel up onto it to provide some cushioning. She retrieved a few of the ice packs from the medical cart before returning to Oliver. He gave her a half-assed smile as he propped his foot up on the stool, but the smile grew a bit more genuine as she positioned the ice packs around his already swollen ankle.

"You want some Aspirin?" She asked jokingly as she knelt down to remove his other boot.

"I'm good," he smirked. She stood and got his grey zip up sweatshirt from where it was discarded over the salmon ladder bar, tossing it to him as she went to assist Digg with Sara.

Thankfully, he was done with stitching her up. Felicity handed the other woman her t-shirt, letting her start the process of changing into her street clothes.

"Someone wanna tell me what the screaming match was that I walked in on?" She asked, looking pointedly at the lethal blonde. Sara huffed and took a moment to duck into her shirt before trying to reach behind her to undo the laces on her Kevlar corset. When she saw the slight wince at the contortion, Felicity took pity and moved behind her to undo the tricky ties for her. Sara smiled gratefully when it dropped and pulled it out from under her top and dumped it on the table next to her.

"_Someone_ was wearing his kiddie gloves, again, and he nearly cost 3 cops their lives," Sara spat, glaring at her boyfriend with a look that wouldn't surprise Felicity if it caused him to drop dead.

"Sara!" Oliver said, obviously exasperated, "I will not go about killing any and all criminals who threaten the police. I won't go back to that."

"But you're more than happy to let them kill the only people who are legitimately trying to help this city."

"That's not fair," Felicity chipped in. She knew what must have happened. They must have been watching over one of Detective Lances operations again and something had gone down. "And Sara, I know you want to protect your father, but seriously, people are going to get suspicious if the Arrow and the Black Canary keep getting involved in your fathers operations."

"And with all due respect, Felicity, you have no idea what its like to have a father to protect."

It was like Sara's words had been delivered by a blow from the woman's bow staff. The air caught in her lungs and she couldn't seem to expel it. Digg froze where he was reordering things in the medical cart and Oliver snapped something back, which Felicity didn't hear due to the ringing in her ears.

"_Felicity_." Sara said entreatingly, reaching out a hand to try to touch her shoulder. Felicity stumbled back, still feeling the physical reaction to her words. She couldn't have known that. There was no way that Sara could have known about her father. She hadn't even told Diggle. That left-

* * *

_**A/N**_** 2; **So, don't shoot me...

As much as I hate to admit it, I can totally see Oliver telling Sara about Felicity's father and just not thinking it was a big deal. After all, she didn't exactly tell him anything über secret... But I think that she wouldn't see it that way.

If you hadn't already guessed, I've made you hang out for _another_ chapter without giving you the big argument... but I don't think its exactly a secret that its going to happen in the next chapter...

And I promise that this time when I say there's going to be a wait for the next chapter, there will be.

Cheers! x


	4. Author's Note (Don't Shoot Me!)

_**Author's Note;**_

Okay, so I hate it when this happens. You get super excited, because you get a notification of an update... and then it turns out to be a measly chapter dedicated to an author's update...

I am so sorry! I know a lot of you are really looking forward to the next chapter, but I meant what I said when I said that's going to be a while.

What this is is a chance for me to set a few things straight, and make my intentions clear, so I'm sorry for getting your hopes up!

Now. I thought the quickest way to do this was to make a video... Which ended up being in two parts and I've uploaded to YouTube. Please watch them! They're kind of important for the rest of the story.

Now, let me get a head start running from the angry mob I'm sure are chasing me!

This is 'no copying urls' thing is beyond irritating. Obviously take out the spaces and replaces the word dot with an actual full stop :)

Part 1: www dot youtube dot com / watch?v=5ppd8AbqwFE&feature= youtu dot be

Part 2: www dot youtube dot com / watch?v=vRy4Z6nq7OA&feature= youtu dot be

Cheers! x


	5. Chapter 4

_**Author's**** Note; **_Okay. So maybe I should change my pen name to LiarLiar. I told you I wasn't going to get this updated and looky here...

I know a few people were irritated with my authors note that went up as a separate chapter. I totally don't blame you! I hate it when that happens too. But can you please go back and look at those videos? They are super _super_ important.

I have this horrible twisty feeling in my gut posting this, because I don't want it to be this huge disappointment, and I'm really worried it is. So _please_ let me know what you think. If people hate it I'll take it down and give it another go. I really want to get this right.

So without further ado... Read on :)

* * *

_Previously in At Least It Wasn't Dirty Dancing_

_"Someone was wearing his kiddie gloves, again, and he nearly cost 3 cops their lives," Sara spat, glaring at her boyfriend with a look that wouldn't surprise Felicity if it caused him to drop dead._

_"Sara!" Oliver said, obviously exasperated, "I will not go about killing any and all criminals who threaten the police. I won't go back to that."_

_"But you're more than happy to let them kill the only people who are legitimately trying to help this city."_

_"That's not fair," Felicity chipped in. She knew what must have happened. They must have been watching over one of Detective Lances operations again and something had gone down. "And Sara, I know you want to protect your father, but seriously, people are going to get suspicious if the Arrow and the Black Canary keep getting involved in your fathers operations."_

_"And with all due respect, Felicity, you have no idea what its like to have a father to protect."_

_It was like Sara's words had been delivered by a blow from the woman's bow staff. The air caught in her lungs and she couldn't seem to expel it. Digg froze where he was reordering things in the medical cart and Oliver snapped something back, which Felicity didn't hear due to the ringing in her ears._

_"Felicity." Sara said entreatingly, reaching out a hand to try to touch her shoulder. Felicity stumbled back, still feeling the physical reaction to her words. She couldn't have known that. There was no way that Sara could have known about her father. She hadn't even told Diggle. That left-_

**Felicity's POV**

The realisation of what must have happened caused Felicity to gasp, as her heart cracked. She'd told him in confidence, and he'd betrayed her. After everything she'd done for him, and he'd betrayed her like that.

Suddenly, the ringing stopped and it was as if all the noises in the room were amplified. Sara was begging with her for forgiveness, telling her she didn't mean it like that, and he was alternating between growling at Sara and apologising to Felicity. Diggle was silent still, but he must have noticed a change in her stance or something as he immediately moved towards her, trying to shield her from the two vigilantes. She held her hands up though, backing away from him.

"Leave. Please." She whispered. Not meeting his eyes.

"Felicity-"

"I need to talk to Oliver. Please go." She said, a little more firmly. This time she saw him nod and back away, throwing a lethal look of his own over to Sara and an even more lethal one to Oliver before grabbing his jacket and heading up the stairs.

Felicity kept her focus on the blinking lights of the servers just behind her desk, refusing to look at the remaining two of members of the team.

"Sara, I appreciate everything you've done for the team, but can you_ please leave_ while I talk to Oliver. This doesn't concern you." She said again, slightly louder this time so that the two could hear her over their own apologies and accusations.

"I'm so sorr-"

"Not now." She interrupted the other girl. She heard movement behind her and eventually she heard the door at the back of the Foundry, the door to Oliver's secret entryway, opening and closing, letting her know that it was just her and Oliver left.

The silence was crushing her. Or was that the knowledge that Oliver had betrayed her?

Maybe both.

"_Felicity_-"

"No." She said, still not turning to face him. She heard his footsteps getting closer to where she was frozen, but thankfully they stopped short of entering her personal space. "Can you do two things for me?"

"What?" Oliver asked, his voice nothing more than a whisper, and yet it still seemed to echo through the cavernous basement.

"First, don't- don't touch me." She whispered, tensing as she felt his moving behind her, but he retreated slightly, as if removing himself from temptation.

"And second?"

"Just let me say my piece without interrupting."

The silence stretched between them, and Felicity could almost hear his thoughts whirring through his head.

"Okay," he finally whispered. Felicity gathered enough courage to turn around and face him. She was mildly surprised to see that he had moved himself back into the room. He was no standing vigil underneath the salmon ladder, his weight favouring his left side as his right was still swollen and bruised. She took the opportunity to settle herself down on the desk that she had leant against the previous night when she'd been talking to Roy, getting comfortable. It was going to be a long night. Trying to gather her thoughts, she couldn't seem to order them in a way that made sense, even to her. A bitter laugh escaped her throat.

"You know, this has been a long time coming, but now that its here I just, I don't know what to say. Or, I know what to say, but I don't know how to say it. I mean, where do you start for something like this? The beginning makes sense, I suppose, but God, where even is that? I've let so much go, left so much unsaid, that I just don't know where to start!" She cried, getting more hysterical as she spoke. A hiccupping sob forced her to stop and she screwed her eyes closed and clenched her jaw to try to wrestle some control over herself. When she opened her eyes again she could see that Oliver had moved towards her before he remembered what he'd just promised her. She deliberately didn't look at his face, knowing that if she did, she would never make it through.

"I guess the easiest place to start, well, not easiest in the most normal sense of the word, but still, the easiest place to start would be Russia. So, definitely not easiest. But its all I've got.

"When I saw Isobel coming out of your room, I just, I knew that that was the end. Okay, ends not very accurate either. Nothing about this is easy or accurate or anything like that. There- You- I," she huffed a breath and undid her ponytail, running her hands through it in frustration, "I realize, now, that it was stupid of me to have any expectations of you. It wasn't fair to you to have expectations. You're life had been turned around just as much as anyone else's, if not more so. I don't blame you for returning to Lian Yu, or for not wanting to come back, or any of that.

"But Russia, Oliver? Isobel? I thought even you would be better than that. As selfish as it is, I thought maybe you thought better of me than that? After the way she'd behaved towards me, every time we were together? Her snide remarks about my 'promotion', her attitude towards you. Do you have no self respect? Do you really think that little of yourself?"

"I-" Oliver started, but Felicity shot him a dark look, reminding him to shut up. He clenched his jaw and she could see him grinding his teeth with his eyes closed.

"When we got home. I tried so hard, Oliver, to make sure it didn't affect anything between us. I meant what I said about what happens in Russia stays in Russia. But you, you with your need to fix everything around you. Has it not occurred to you that you mostly just make things worse?" She sighed, frustratedly, grabbing her hair and tugging gently to try to relieve the headache forming. "If you'd just let it alone. But no. You had to go and make that infuriating comment! You couldn't be with someone who care about? Seriously?

"And then the Count came back, and Digg was ill, and your mothers trial, and I couldn't do anything again. I tried to help, all I wanted to do was check if the flu vaccine was how he was distributing his product. I know that it was stupid. I know that you wouldn't have let me go if you'd known, but that was my point. It was like you didn't trust me anymore and I just wanted to show you that you weren't alone, and that Diggle was the only one you could rely on for help. Don't get me wrong, I will be forever grateful to you for saving me. But I blame myself for putting you in that position. And I'm not going to lie, I still carry that guilt around, for making you break your promise to Tommy, and I feel like his blood is on my hands, which is ridiculous, because you're the one that had to kill him, but it was because of me.

"Then when Barry was here and I was finally moving on. I had finally convinced myself that it was okay to move on. You weren't ready, and to be totally honest I'm not entirely sure I could have handled being in a relationship with you, anyway. Because Barry was good, and kind, and perfect for me in every way, except for one; he wasn't you." She ignored the way her cheeks were flaming and her breath hitched.

"But then you had to go and spoil that for me further by acting like a complete ass, before doing a total 180 and inviting him back. Did you know he nearly kissed me before we left? We were at the Applied Sciences warehouse and he nearly kissed me. But he didn't. And do you know why? Because he didn't believe me when I told him I didn't like you like that. And he was right." For the first time since she started her speech she felt a tear slide down her cheek. She dropped her head into her hands and took a moment to compose herself. When she thought she had it under control she sat up again, wiping her cheeks. She discarded her glasses onto the table next to her, finding her inability to focus on his face made it easier to carry on.

"Everything's just snowballed after that. I can't even keep things straight in my head anymore. Its all a blur. You were trying to train Roy, then Merlyn's prototype, Laurel, Nyssa, Sara coming back permanently. I just can't keep up with it anymore. The next thing I know I'm deleting security footage of you and her going at it like rabbits on the training mats. Thank you, by the way, for not corrupting my work space." She added snidely, rolling her eyes.

"Things spiralled from there and I started to doubt my place on the team. To doubt my place here," she motioned around her with a hand, casting her blurry gaze up towards to rafters, "And Tockman attacked my system, and I mean, that is the one thing I have to do down here, because none of you can. Not even Sara can build a proper system, and apparently, neither can I. So I felt like I had to prove myself again. And once again, I messed up. Only this time it wasn't just you I ended up putting in the line of fire with me, it was Sara too. That doesn't mean to say that its okay to put you in the line of fire. It just makes me feel extra guilty that my actions risked hurting her, too.

"And your - your mother's secret about Thea's paternity. God Oliver, it was killing me. I didn't know what to do. She threatened-"

"She what?!" He roared, shaking Felicity out of her trance. She had been so focused on getting everything out in the open that she'd just tuned everything out. She wasn't angry. In fact, she was surprised he'd lasted this long without breaking his word.

"Not- not physically, or anything like that. She just told me that, if I told you, I'd rip your world apart and that you'd hate me. That's mainly why I was so upset when I told you. That's what sparked the memories of my father. And she was right, wasn't she."

"No-"

"Oliver, she was. You may not have realized it, but you've distanced yourself from me!" She cried, jumping off her table and stalking towards him. She hadn't replaced her glasses so everything was still fuzzy, but it didn't stop her. "You pulled away, and there's only one explanation for that."

"Felicity, I-"

"No, its okay, Oliver. It was naïve of me to assume that everything was just going to be fine and dandy between us after I told you something as earth shattering as that. But telling Sara about my father, Oliver? What was that some kind of revenge?"

"Revenge? For what?" He asked, confusion clear in his tone as he stepped towards her.

"For telling you about Merlyn. Was telling Sara that my father abandoned me revenge for that?"

"What? Felicity, no!" He whispered, stepping forward again and reaching out to her, but he stopped just short of touching her. "I don't understand-"

"Then maybe that's worse?" She whispered back, but it sounded more like a question, than a statement.

"Help me understand, please." He begged.

"Oliver, you have five years on a deserted island in your past. I have 25 years of dealing with the fact that my father left me. That he didn't want me." She stopped when her breath hitched again. This time when Oliver reached out, his hand stopped close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off his skin, making her shiver. "My point is, we all have things in our past that we can't- that we don't want to share with other people. My father is mine. Did you not see how hard it was for me to tell you? Could you not see how terrified I was?

"But this isn't just about me, is it? Roy? And Thea? Does your sisters happiness mean anything to you, Oliver? Do you know what happened when he tried to break up with her? She told him no. She told him that she knew he was trying to push her away and she wouldn't let him. So do you know what he had to do to push her far enough? He made her catch him with another girl - and don't you DARE get angry at him for that Oliver because its ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Felicity could feel the anger that she had been repressing for the past hour beginning to burn through her veins. All the hurt, all the sadness, all the agonising pain came rushing back and she snapped.

"You had NO RIGHT, Oliver, NO RIGHT to tell anyone! That was my secret! My story to tell! I told you that in confidence, and you BETRAYED ME!" She did nothing to stifle the sob. But rather than collapsing to her knees and letting go like she wanted to, she closed the remaining distance between them and pushed him with all her might. "Who the HELL do you think you are, Queen?! Do you think, that just because you're some kind of HERO that yours is the only life with SECRETS?! I TRUSTED you! I trusted you…" She trailed off, her voice dropping to a whisper before dying completely.

This time she did collapse to her knees. She didn't feel the pain that she knew should be radiating through her legs at the contact of her kneecaps with the concrete floor. Doubling over, another sob racked her body and she buried her head in her hands, her hair falling over her face, curtaining her from his penetrating gaze.

They stayed like that, Felicity curled on the floor and Oliver a statue above her, for at least half an hour before Felicity's sobs subsided. When they did, Oliver slowly lowered to his knees in front of her, totally disregarding his injured ankle.

"_Felicity_." It was unfair how broken he sounded, as if he was the one who had just been betrayed.

"Do you know how utterly _weak_ and _stupid_ I felt, Oliver?" She said, her voice almost unrecognisable. Her throat was on fire from her sobbing, her head was pounding, and she knew she must have looked a wreck.

"_I'm sorry_." He whispered, in that same broken tone.

"Sorry for what, Oliver?" She asked with a hysterical laugh, "Sorry for hurting me? Sorry that I called you on your lies and your bullshit? Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry for betraying your trust. I'm sorry for pushing you away. I'm sorry for not seeing that you were struggling with this. I'm sorry for constantly putting you in danger. For making you feel like you don't belong here. God, for everything."

"That's not enough, Oliver." She whispered, trying to stand on shaky legs. When she wobbled, Oliver automatically took hold of her arms to steady her. She flinched, not realizing it until she saw his face. He was giving her the same wounded look as he had that morning in his office.

Her phone chimed unexpectedly from where she'd left it at her desk and she jumped. For the last few hours the world had narrowed to just her and Oliver. She'd forgotten that life existed outside of the basement. When she didn't immediately reply, her phone began to ring. Pulling herself away from Oliver she picked it up and checked the caller ID. Roy.

"Hey, Harper," she chirped, deliberately trying to keep her tone light.

"_Hey. Are you heading home at all tonight?"_ He asked, seemingly before registering her tone, "_Wait, what's wrong?"_

"Nothing, nothings wrong," she tried to reassure him, but knew that it didn't work when he growled.

_"Flick. What's wrong?"_

"Honestly, Roy, its nothing. I'll be leaving soon, I promise." She hung up before he could reply.

"Was that Roy?" Oliver asked unnecessarily.

"Yeah. Yeah, he was just wanting to know when I'd be home." She said quietly, clearing her throat and collecting her things.

"What are you doing?"

Felicity sighed. She couldn't do this. Not now. Not again.

"I'm going home, Oliver." She told him tiredly, moving toward the exit to the alley. She growled when he stepped into her path. "Move Oliver."

"Felicity, please-"

"Please what?" She cried, "Please go? Please don't go? Please never come back? Please what?"

"I- I don't-"

"I don't know." She spoke over him, shaking her head. "Until you _do_ know, Oliver, just, don't expect me to be here too much." She sighed and moved around him to get to the door. "Make sure you stay off your ankle and ice it." She reminded him before she closed the door behind her.

* * *

_**A/N 2;**_So there you have it. Now, I know this isn't _exactly_ ripping Oliver a new one.. But this isn't over. I know Felicity isn't one to walk away from a fight, but just with the way I've written it, I think that she'd just be so drained that she couldn't muster up the energy to carry on?

This is the most important chapter for me to get right, so I am begging you to please let me know what you think. Please.

Thank you so much for your support with this, it's been insane :)

Cheers x


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note;** I know, I know! I'm a terrible, terrible, terrible person! I am so sorry for not updating this sooner. The show was screwing with my head and my muse abandoned me and I was all turned around with what was happening and I had so much uni work to do and I'm just a terrible person!

After this, I have exams, so I probably won't update for a couple of weeks.

Thank you to all of you who have given me support so far and I'm so sorry for letting you down.

Enjoy the chapter, and let me know what you think at the end.

* * *

_Previously in At Least It Wasn't Dirty Dancing_

"_What are you doing?"_

_Felicity sighed. She couldn't do this. Not now. Not again._

"_I'm going home, Oliver." She told him tiredly, moving toward the exit to the alley. She growled when he stepped into her path. "Move Oliver."_

"_Felicity, please-"_

"_Please what?" She cried, "Please go? Please don't go? Please never come back? Please what?"_

"_I- I don't-"_

"_I don't know." She spoke over him, shaking her head. "Until you do know, Oliver, just, don't expect me to be here too much." She sighed and moved around him to get to the door. "Make sure you stay off your ankle and ice it." She reminded him before she closed the door behind her._

**Oliver's POV**

He was-

He couldn't-

Everything hurt.

He couldn't catch his breath.

His lungs weren't working.

The door closing felt like a physical crack to his cheek.

He reeled backwards and stumbled on his injured ankle.

In the silence left behind her words seemed to echo throughout the Foundry. All of them, but the ones that seemed to reverberate louder were the ones that he focused on.

_"You betrayed me."_

_"I trusted you."_

_"No right."_

_"Please what?"_

_"Its not good enough."_

_"You betrayed me."_

He was numb.

He couldn't focus.

He couldn't move.

He didn't want to move.

If he moved, it would all become real.

He tried blinking his eyes. Maybe if he could just open them, this would have just have been a dream. A nightmare.

It was ridiculous, but he couldn't help himself. He screwed his eyes shut tight, counted to 10 in his head, and hesitantly opened them.

He was alone.

Alone never used to bother him. Since his return from the island, before he brought in Diggle and Felicity, he had craved the time he alone he spent in the basement of his family's company's steel factory in the Glades. There was no need to pretend when he was alone. No need to keep his public face up, no need to convince the world he was the same Ollie Queen that he had left as.

Somehow he stumbled to one of the concrete pillars and sank down it heavily, stretching his legs out.

Alone.

**Felicity's POV**

She made it to her car in a daze. Unlocking the drivers door she slid in, put the key in the ignition and started to the motor, but then she stopped. Felicity hadn't meant for it to happen like that. Sure, she'd told Roy that she would talk to Oliver, but she'd meant that she was going to talk to him about Roy and Thea, not about her.

But then Sara had made that comment and she just… couldn't stop.

Not wanting to think on it anymore she took a shuddering breath, clicked her seat belt on and pulled out of the lot.

"Where were you?" Roy asked as soon as the door opened. It seemed that he had been sitting on one of her dining room chairs that he'd pulled into the entryway, facing the door.

"Hello to you too, dad," Felicity greeted sarcastically, rolling her eyes and shrugging out of her jacket, leaving her bag on the floor.

"Flick, what is going on? You sounded upset when I called, but you were only going to the foundry."

"You know, you almost sounded like Grouchy Pants then."

"Felicity!"

"Wow, okay, you _really _need to stop spending time with Oliver." She said, ignoring Roy and walking into the kitchen to get a drink. _Thank God it's Friday_, she thought, sighing as she poured a generous amount of gin into a high glass before adding tonic.

"Please can you just tell me what happened?" He asked, having trailed after her, "And make me one of those too while you're at it."

"Okay, A) I am not your mother, your barkeep, or your maid," she said, throwing him a dirty look, "B) I thought we agreed last night: no alcohol for you until we research this Mirakuru some more, and C) I'm fine."

"Two can play at this game. A) I never said you were my mother or anything, although you've already proven yourself a better mother than my own, B) we never agreed on the alcohol thing, but point taken, and C) you're not fine. You're upset. You're drinking something other than red wine. So. What'd he do?" Roy said, leaning against the bench next to her and fixing her with an unflinching stare.

"A) I'm sorry, the mother comment wasn't nice, I should have known better, B) we did agree; you didn't have a beer last night, C) why do you assume that it was Oliver, and for that matter D) why are we speaking in alphabetical bullet points?"

"A) You know I don't hold it against you, B) just because I didn't have a beer doesn't mean we agreed, C) I never said Oliver, I said he. For all you know I could have been referring to Diggle, but you just confirmed exactly what I thought, so you wanna explain what happened? And D) I don't know, but can we please stop."

Felicity laughed lightly and shook her head. If this is what it would have been like with a brother, she was really disappointed she hadn't had it earlier. Indicating with her head towards the lounge she pushed off the counter and walked away, trusting him to follow. She sank into the corner of the couch much like she had the previous evening curling her legs up underneath her and propping her arm head up with her arm curled under her head. Roy sat on the opposite end feet up on the coffee table, arms crossed over his front. She took a drink before sighing and massaging her temple with her fingers of her spare hand.

"Nothing happened, especially. Nothing directly. A few weeks ago, I told Oliver about my Dad. It- It wasn't like telling you. Maybe because you're kind of in the same boat, I guess. Anyway. When I told him I thought it was in confidence. Turns out, he didn't really see what the big deal was."

"What do you mean?"

"He ended up telling Sara, somehow. I don't know how that could have come up in casual conversation, but I don't really want to think about that."

"So he told Sara about your father. After it took you a year to even bring up your family?"

"Mmmhmm," she hummed, drinking some more.

"I swear to God, I'm gonna kill him," Roy growled, balling his shaking hands up into fists.

"No, Roy." She sighed, putting her glass down on the coffee table and stretching her feet so they nudged his leg, "He's been a terrible friend lately, but he's blundering through this all in the dark; Sara, Slade, Mirakuru being back in play, he doesn't know how to juggle it all."

"I can't believe you're defending him, Felicity!"

"Roy, tonight I got off my chest some major issues that have been brimming for the last year. I really just want to forget about Oliver for a while. Just chill here, maybe watch a movie. It's Saturday tomorrow. How do you feel about sleeping in 'til lunch and then, I dunno. Oh! We could go mini golfing! There's that new place that's just opened and I have been dying to check it out and I really need a distraction from all this."

"This isn't over," he growled, even as he stretched forward with shaking hands and picked up the remote.

"No, it's not."

* * *

Felicity blinked expecting to be on the sofa still. Needless to say she was surprised when she realized that she wasn't in her lounge. In fact, she was lying in her bed, under her quilt, without her glasses on. Tapping her hand around on her bedside table until she found her lenses, and slid them on as she sat up and stretched. She was still in her leggings and hoodie that she'd got changed into before heading to the foundry the previous evening. A rustling noise from the direction of her kitchen drew her attention, but unlike the previous morning, she didn't freak out.

"Harper! I expect breakfast in bed!" She called jokingly even as she got up and padded down the hallway. When she got into the kitchen though, it wasn't Roy at her coffee pot.

"You know, if I was a normal girl finding two different men helping themselves to my kitchen two mornings running would be really concerning." She quipped as she reached passed her guest to get her favourite mug down from the cupboard and handed it to him.

"Well I'm here because the first man who helped himself to your kitchen called me. Said that he thought you could do with some 'Diggle Time' as he called it."

Felicity laughed and accepted the coffee from her friend as he handed it to her, taking a sip.

"Smart kid, that one."

"Debatable," Digg grinned, finishing off his own coffee.

"So, where is he?" She asked, glancing across the passage at the spare room. The door was open and the bed made, although rumpled and obviously slept in.

"He said he had some business to attend to. With him, that could mean a lot. I thought better than to pry." Digg said, refilling his mug with the last of the pot. "How's it going - babysitting him - anyway?"

"Honestly! I'm not babysitting! He's like having a kid brother around, or what I would expect from a kid brother, which I don't know anything about, obviously, because I never had a brother, kid or otherwise." She rolled her eyes as he grinned at her again.

"There she is," he smiled, gently bumping her chin with his knuckles. "Are we gonna talk about what happened last night?"

"No?" She tried, although she knew they would. If there was anyone she could open up to about this stuff, even more so than Oliver, especially more so than Oliver, it was Diggle.

"Let me rephrase that: I'm going to refill the pot, and then we are going to talk about what happened last night." Diggle said, giving her a look that let her know this wasn't up for discussion. She sighed, but nodded. Sitting at her breakfast bar and plucking an apple from the fruit bowl to munch on.

As promised, once the coffee pot was full, Digg joined her, sliding onto the stool next to her. The silence stretched between them until Diggle got sick of her shuffling and slurping and crunching, moving her (now empty) coffee mug out of reach, and looking at her with his 'Dad' face until she put down her apple core.

"You may have noticed that I don't talk about my family," she started, deliberately using the same words that she'd used to tell Oliver. Unlike Oliver though, he merely looked at her emphatically, waiting for her to continue. "My mother was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar – I did not mean to quote a song just then-"

"Felicity-"

"I'm sorry. Right. Mum was a waitress, and I can't remember what it was my Dad did, but I do remember he worked a lot. In saying that, he was available every night to read me a bedtime story. One morning when I was 4, I woke up to yelling and screaming. I remember rushing out of my room just to see my father opening the door with a suitcase in his hand and my mother sitting on the floor, crying her heart out." She felt a tear drip down her cheek, the salt stinging her sensitive skin. A hand entered her line of vision and stilled her fidgeting fingers where they were incessantly plucking one another. Her lips trembled as she gave him a little smile, trying to do something to reassure him that she was okay. "I remember he turned back, and saw me standing down the hall. He saw me, but he still chose to leave. And that's what hurts the most. He chose to leave me there."

"So that's what Sara meant by you not having a father. How did she know?" He asked, releasing her hands only to wipe away the tear.

"I don't know how Sara knew. Well, I mean, there is only one way that she would know, and it wasn't cos I told her."

"Oliver?" He asked. She didn't know if it was a good thing or not that his tone wasn't surprised or incredulous, just curious.

"I ended up telling Oliver when I told him about Thea and Malcolm Merlyn," she sighed shaking her head sadly. "To be fair, I didn't tell him not to tell anyone."

"That's beside the point, Felicity," Digg sighed, going and washing their coffee mugs and tipping the now cold coffee down the drain, "You told him something that was obviously very difficult and very personal. He of all people should understand what that takes. If you told him something in confidence it would only be fair for you to assume that he would keep that information to himself."

"I know," she sighed, moving into the lounge and flopping down onto the couch, Diggle coming and sitting in the one and only armchair a moment later.

"So that's what happened with Sara. Do you want to talk about what happened with Oliver after we left?"

"No. That... that stays between me and Oliver. I think he got the message this time." She said quietly, making syre to give Digg a reassuring smile. "We'll be okay." She added. As she spoke the words though, a thought came to her. She didn't know who the 'we' she spoke of was. Did she mean Team Arrow? Or her and Oliver?

"Do you have any plans for today?" Digg asked, effectively changing the topic and earning himself a grin.

"Well, before he disappeared, I suggested to Roy last night that we sleep til noon, which I almost managed, and then go mini golfing."

"Really? You want to the kid mini golfing?" He scoffed at her and she gave him a sly grin.

"Hey, we could use it as a new control exercise!" She said, bouncing in her seat. "Probably more fun than slapping water."

Digg looked at her contemplatively. "Actually, that might work in some skew way."

"So it's settled then," she smiled, jumping up and dashing to her room to retrieve her cell. "Let me just text him to ask if he's still cool with it." She said coming back into the lounge and managing to jump over the back of the sofa. (It was a manoeuvre that she had practised for years before she managed to do it without hurting herself, and now she did it out of habit, even though she had been lectured multiple times by both her mother and Digg about ruining the furniture.)

_Hey Harper! We still on for mini? Digg is cool to join._

"Wait, you're coming too right?" She asked after sending the text.

"I suppose I can. If we're going to make it a family affair do you mind if I bring AJ? Give Carley a break?"

"Yes! I haven't seen AJ in forever, and Carley deserves some me time." She said just before her phone buzzed.

_1 New Message. Roy: Diggle Time go well then? I didnt realize u were serious, bt I think I can deal._

_I'm always serious about mini. We're gonna bring Digg's nephew too. You're good with kids, right?_

_1 New Message. Roy: Kids?_

Felicity didn't bother replying, just let Digg know that they were on with a quick thumbs up seeing as he was on the phone, presumably with Carley. He gave her one back and she motioned down the corridor, indicating she was going to get dressed.

Feeling much better than when she got up that morning, she returned to her room once again. She took her time with her shower, washing her hair and taking the time to dry it and curl it a lot more than she normally did. Pulling on a pair of comfortable skinny jeans, she delved into the recesses of her wardrobe for a loose knit jumper that she'd bought months ago but never had the opportunity to wear. It was varying shades of blue in odd bands, bringing out her eyes, but most importantly it was snuggly and warm and perfect for the slight chill that was creeping in with the fall. She didn't bother with make up, just pulled on a pair of lace up ankle boots as she heard the front door open.

"Diggle."

"Roy."

She heard the two men greet each other in their usual terse manner, and she rolled her eyes before making her presence known.

"Pissing match over, we are having family time." She reminded them, standing with her hands on her hips and giving them her best 'Mum' look. A knock on the door saved either of them from replying.

"That'll be Carley," Digg said, but Felicity darted to the door before he could. She flung the door open and smiled at her friend before dropping to her knees so she was eye level with the little boy.

"And who is this handsome fella?" She cooed, putting her hands on her knees.

"It's me!" He cried indignantly crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, hi Me, I'm Felicity." She stuck her hand out for a handshake. He looked incredulously between the proffered hand and her face before giving a wide grin and rushing forward for a hug instead. She laughed and gave him a cuddle before standing up to greet Carley properly.

"Hi, how's things?"

"Things are good. Thanks for taking the little monster."

"Hey, no worries! I haven't seen the little man in aaaages!" She cried theatrically for AJ's benefit. Carley laughed and bent to kiss the top of her sons head where he was looking up between the two women.

"Now, you behave yourself, alright? And do everything Uncle John and Felicity say."

"Yes, Mum," He sighed in that exasperated child way, and making all the adults laugh.

"Go. Have fun," Digg said, moving Felicity out of the way so he could give his sister-in-law a kiss on the cheek. Even after their failed attempt at a relationship they were still good friends and family. It had taken a couple of weeks to get there, but they'd managed. For AJ.

"Behave!" Carley called back over her shoulder as she disappeared down the steps, and Felicity couldn't work out if she was talking to her son or to Diggle. When she said as much Digg gave her a playful push to the shoulder. Felicity followed as Digg ushered AJ into the room. When the young boy caught sight of the other man he stopped chatting suddenly and tucked himself into Digg's leg. Roy smiled uneasily and, after looking at Digg to check if it was cool, dropped to his knees like Felicity had at the door and stuck his hand out.

"Hey, little man. I'm Roy." When AJ shrunk further into Digg Roy looked desperately up ato Felicity, his eyes clearly questioning what he'd done wrong.

"He's okay, AJ," Felicity said, brushing her hand over his head as she passed to stand by Roy. "I know he's kinda scary, but he's, like, really strong. Probably stronger than your Uncle John!" She whispered conspiratorially.

"No one's stronger than Uncle John." AJ cried, finally moving out from behind his uncle.

"Wanna bet?" Felicity grinned. The two men clicked and started a friendly banter. Roy made a show of taking off his hoodie and stretching his neck and arms while Digg took off his leather jacket and sat on one side of her coffee table.

"I would like a coffee table at the end of this." She reminded giving Roy a significant look. He nodded before dropping to his knees on the other side of Digg, sticking his arm out poised for an arm wrestle. With AJ cheering Digg on Felicity watched in amusement as the two made a big deal of their battle. After 10 minutes she could see Digg getting sightly pissed at the cocky smirk on Roy's face and decided to call time, ending the wrestle with Roy allowing Digg to slam his hand down. AJ cheered and jumped on his uncle's back as he stood.

"Told you, Felicity!" AJ cheered. Keeping up the charade she made a big deal of shaking her head at Roy in mock disappointment.

"We ready to take this show on the road?" Digg asked from where he was now standing in the entryway with AJ still on his back.

"Yeah, just give me two seconds to grab my bag and a coat," she said, racing down to her room.

"I need to grab my jacket." She heard Roy say from down the hall. By the time she re-emerged the three boys were standing on the foot path at the bottom of the steps. She grinned at them before turning and locking the door, then bouncing down the steps to join them.

"So who's on my team at mini putt?" She asked taking the lead and sliding into the back seat of Digg's car.

"You play mini putt with teams?" Roy replied, taking the passenger seat. Once he'd got AJ in the back with Felicity Digg climbed into the front and started the car.

"I thought mini was a free for all."

"You three are just worried that I'm gonna miraculously make you suck, aren't you?" She said, raising a challenging eyebrow at each.

"I'll be on your team Felicity!" AJ said happily.

"My champion," she winked at him.

The rest of the day passed cheerfully. The radio in the car was loud and they all sang along, censoring where necessary for 'little ears'. Mini putt was surprisingly competitive. AJ and Felicity teamed up, but Roy and Diggle were determined to out do one another. Perhaps even more surprisingly though, Felicity ended up being the best, getting three holes-in-one. The two grown men sulked all the way to Big Belly afterwards while the little guy regaled them with some of Felicity's best shots. By the time they arrived at the diner they all ready for a decent meal.

"Uh oh, here's trouble," Carley called from where she was behind the counter. AJ rushed through the door ahead of the adults, running across the room and bouncing up onto one of the stools across from his mother. Felicity followed at a much more sedated pace, just catching the end of AJ's anecdote.

"- and me and Felicity beat them both!"

"Felicity and I," the two women corrected at the same time while the men just laughed.

"Whatever," AJ grumbled before starting on Digg and Roy's arm wrestle from earlier in the day. Digg disappeared behind the counter and helped himself to the coffee, pouring out four cups and handing them to each of the grown ups and handing a juice box to AJ.

"Do you want some food?" Carley asked, accepting her coffee.

"I'm dying for a Big Belly Buster." Felicity groaned, a hand over her stomach as it gave a particularly loud growl.

"Ya know, Flick, you keep eating junk food and you're not going to be able to fit into those skin tight dresses you wear for work," Roy grinned, tickling her side with one hand. She squealed and squirmed on her stool, nearly sliding off and knocking her coffee over in the process. AJ rescued her though, giving Roy a shove, to which the older guy stumbled back dramatically.

"It's not very nice to tease a girl about her weight, Roy," Carley reprimanded.

"Yeah! And it's not like you and Oliver and Sara don't keep me in shape," Felicity added. After her brain caught up with her mouth she flushed and closed her eyes. Roy and Digg choked on their coffees and Carley rolled her eyes.

"What's so funny?" AJ piped up, looking between all of them in confusion.

"Nothing, AJ," Felicity sighed, glaring at the two men until they got themselves under control.

Carley distracted everyone, and efficiently rescued Felicity from further tormenting from the guys, by asking for the rest of their orders. After she had returned the conversation moved onto AJ's school, and safer topics. When the food arrived they moved to one of the booths, Felicity and Roy on one side, AJ and Digg on the other, with Carley pulling up a chair to join them at the table. Felicity watched as Digg handed his nephew a napkin and tucked an extra to cover his shirt. It was a nice change to see this side of her friend. Sure, he was very protective of her, acting as an older brother, but 'Uncle John' was downright nurturing. She stayed quiet as they ate, content to let the others carry the conversation, only letting out one inappropriate noise when she first bit into her burger.

Dinner eaten, a quiet fell upon the group. AJ seemed to have fallen asleep, the excitement of the afternoon finally catching up with him. Carley stood and picked her son up, smiling at them before disappearing out back.

"Flick, I think I'm gonna head home tonight," Roy said quietly, fiddling with his milkshake glass.

"If you're sure," she sighed, squeezing his arm reassuringly.

"Yeah. Um, Sin text me earlier. She stopped by my place and said none of Thea's stuff was there, so I guess it's safe."

"Okay, but if you decide to change your mind for whatever reason, I'd be happy for you to just move your stuff into my spare room."

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Digg said.

"What?" Roy asked, clearly confused.

Digg glanced in the direction that Carley had disappeared before turning back to them.

"No, it's a good idea. With Slade back Oliver's had me keeping watch over Felicity while he's been at the lair, but I still have to take shifts at the manor – I'm still employed as part of the Queen family security team. If you're at Felicity's you can stay with her and Thea will be back at the mansion so I can keep an eye on her then in a professional capacity so it's not suspicious."

"Can I think about it?" Roy asked, looking between two thirds of the original Team Arrow.

"Of course you can," Felicity smiled, pulling her phone out of her pocket and checking the time. "I might head home now though. I could do with catching up on some chores and things."

"Don't suppose you're heading in tonight, either of you?" Digg asked, giving both of them his best empathetic smile.

"I'm not," she said, nudging Roy to let her out.

"Not tonight, I'm gonna hang with Sin." Roy said as he stood. Felicity slid out of the booth and stood, collecting up her bag as she did. John stood too, sliding his leather jacket on.

"Just let me tell Carley we're heading out and then I'll drop you two home," he said, jogging out the back.

"Are you going to be going in at all?" Roy asked her as soon as Digg was out of sight?

"Hmm?" She hummed, feigning innocence.

"To the Foundry?" Roy cocked an eyebrow at her, giving her a look that let her know he knew she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Not for a few days," she sighed, giving him a little smile.

"How about this," he proposed, sliding his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and shrugging his shoulders, "I go back when you go back?"

"Sounds good," she smiled.

"You two ready?" Digg reappeared, keys in hand.

* * *

It had been a couple of hours since Digg had dropped her home. The clock on her Blu-ray player said that it was 9pm. So far she'd manage to do all of her laundry, straighten up the guest room after Roy's use, and do a full clean up of her kitchen and living room. A knock on the door surprised her from where she was curled up on the couch with her tablet. When's he got to the door she looked through the peep hole and saw just the person she had been waiting for. With a heavy sigh she opened the door.

"You know, Laurel once said that 'I Wasn't Trying To Be A Bitch' should be the title of my autobiography. I might just take her up on that." Sara sighed, proffering the bottle of wine in her hands to Felicity.

"I can see that," she replied, aware of the ice in her usually friendly tone. Regardless, she knew that they had to have this conversation so she stepped aside, accepting the bottle as she let Sara in.

"I'm not good at this stuff, but I figured wine would be a good start?" It came across as a question, which made Felicity smile.

"Frankly, I've never really had a girl-friend where this conversation was necessary, so I guess we'll blunder through together." She led the way through the lounge into her kitchen, opening the bottle and leaving it on the table to breathe while she retrieved down two of the wine glasses that weren't used enough. When she returned to the table she saw that Sara had taken a seat in the same seat Roy had for the previous few mealtimes.

"Ollie said that Roy was staying here?" Sara asked, casting an eye about the obviously Roy free house.

"Yeah, he's staying in my guest room until Thea's cleared her stuff out. Well, until he wants to go home, actually; it's an open invitation." She poured out a considerable helping of wine into each glass and clinked hers gently against Sara's before taking a fortifying sip.

"I don't even know where to start," Sara sighed, putting her own glass down without taking a drink. "I've done so much in my life that I need to apologise for, but this is in a whole new playing field."

"I'm not interested in apologies for what you've done in the past, for the League or any of that, Sara," she sighed, fiddling with the stem of her glass, "I just- What you said? It hurt. A lot, I'm not gonna lie."

"So let's start there," Sara said, finally took a sip of her wine and gave a little smile of appreciation afterwards. The smile left her face quickly though as she became serious. "What I said, I didn't say it to be spiteful. I didn't know that it wasn't common knowledge – not that that excuses it, it doesn't. When– When Oliver told me- I don't want you to think that we were talking about you behind your back or anything like that, okay? We weren't. It was just... he'd been really quiet, more quiet than usual, and I asked him what was on his mind. I don't think he meant to tell me anything, but I kind of pushed him. He told me about Moira and Merlyn, and consequently Thea. I asked him how he found out, but it kind of clicked before he answered; how distant you'd been, especially with him, his _terrible _introduction of his mother at the rally. I told him that I worked it out, that it was you who'd found out and told him, and then I asked how you found out. He didn't really give me an answer, just said that there was a connection to some work you'd done for Walter at some point. But, me being me and not really knowing when to back down, I asked why Thea being Merlyn's daughter upset you so much. He said something came up about your family, I made some crass joke about the possibility of you being Robert's daughter and then he got all sullen in that way he does and growled 'for all we know she could be', which of course sparked more questions."

Felicity remained silent through the whole explanation, just occasionally sipping her wine. It made sense. Horrible sense, but sense nonetheless. Of course Oliver hadn't just gone and told Sara outright. Of course they hadn't been gossiping behind her back. Didn't make it hurt any less.

"Okay." She said, finishing the last of her wine.

"Okay?" Sara's tone was slightly incredulous.

"Okay. I can't- I won't forgive you just yet," she said, standing and taking her glass to the sink, rinsing it out and putting it on the side, taking a moment to just try and process.

"Yet?"

"Sara, you're a part of our team, a big part of it. And you're important to Oliver, obviously. I won't be the one to put anyone in an awkward position, but you have to know, I can't just put it all behind me as though nothing happened."

"I understand," Sara said standing up as well and pushing her chair in, "I know it's going to be a while, but I promise you, I will try to make it up to you."

"I know," Felicity gave her a genuine smile, the first of that evening, "And I look forward to it."

"Can I- Can I give you a hug?" Sara asked, sounding like the young woman who had left on the Gambit for the first time around Felicity, "It's just, before I left, if I ever had a fight with anyone, family, friend, we always made up with a hug. So is it okay if I hug you?" Felicity took a moment, trying to reconcile the ruthless assassin she knew with the young woman before her. After a moment of her silence had stretched for what was obviously too long, Sara nodded and swallowed audibly. "I understand."

"Oh, come here," Felicity sighed, opening her arms. Sara only hesitated for a moment before crossing the space between them and wrapping her own arms around her in a steel trap. The two stood like that for a while, just taking comfort in the friendly gesture. Eventually though they pulled apart.

"You know, I might just make this a new rule for the lair," Felicity smiled.

"What rule?"

"That everyone hugs when we make up."

Sara laughed, the sound surprising Felicity. She'd heard the other woman expel a breathe of laughter before, but this was a full blown laugh, and Felicity couldn't help the smile that made its way onto her face.

"I'd pay to see that. Can you just picture it? Ollie and Digg hugging after a fight? They're more likely just to deck each other and take a shot of vodka each."

"Well, that's basically what they do now, so I think hugging would still be a better idea." Felicity grinned, glad that they had at least come to some sort of understanding. As they quieted back down, Sara moved back around to the table to pick her jacket up from where she'd draped it over the back of her chair, pulling it on.

"So where does that leave us?" She asked, smiling back over at her.

"This leaves us almost back at square one. Maybe square two."

"Square two. I can do that." Sara smiled as she walked through the lounge to the door, Felicity trailing after her. As Sara left, Felicity held the door, getting ready to close it when Sara spoke again.

"Outta curiosity, what square were we on before I fucked it up?"

"Guess we'll find out." She smiled one last time before closing the door.


End file.
